Why Munde's resignation took so long when govt had photos of sarpanch murder, asks Sule

Pune, Mar 4 (PTI) NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule on Tuesday asked why it took 84 days for Dhananjay Munde to resign from the Maharashtra cabinet when the photos and footage related to the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh were available with the government.

Talking to reporters, the Lok Sabha MP said although Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal said their party colleague Munde resigned on moral grounds, he himself cited health reasons for his decision to step down.

Munde, the state food and civil supplies minister and NCP MLA from Parli, resigned from the state cabinet days after his close aide Walmik Karad was named as the mastermind in the Beed sarpanch murder case.

He said he resigned as the Maharashtra cabinet minister after listening to his conscience and due to medical reasons.

The Opposition demand for Munde's resignation intensified after gory photos and court chargesheet details related to the killing of Deshmukh surfaced, revealing the brutalities committed before the murder.

Deshmukh was abducted, tortured and murdered on December 9 last year, allegedly for attempting to stop an extortion bid targeting an energy company in the district.

The state Crime Investigation Department (CID) on February 27 filed a more than 1,200-page chargesheet at a court in Beed district in Deshmukh's murder and two related cases.

Sule said, "Did the chief minister and deputy chief ministers not see the photos (of the killing)? They must have seen these photos before you and I saw this yesterday. If they have seen these photos, why did it take 84 days to get that person (Munde) to resign?" She claimed the people of the state were disappointed and in shock since the photos and footage related to the murder surfaced.

The Baramati MP claimed she has been seeking an appointment with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for the last couple of days to discuss the matter.

Sule demanded a transparent probe into the case and said perpetrators involved in Deshmukh's murder should be hanged.

The NCP (SP) leader said she and other MPs of the party will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and apprise him about the situation.

The Sharad Pawar-led party later staged a silent protest in Pune to condemn the sarpanch's murder.

Speaking to reporters at the protest site, Sule said that social activist Anjali Damania, BJP MLA Suresh Dhas and NCP (SP) MP Bajarang Sonawane have been talking about more than 100 suspicious deaths in Beed district.

"There should be a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the deaths. Those 100 people who have gone missing, their files should be opened and their families should get justice," she said.

An offence of extortion falls under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Sule said, adding that she would demand invocation of this law in the present extortion case.

She also said the call detail records (CDR) of all the accused need to be probed.

"If the CDR is being probed, who all were involved in the alleged extortion case of Avaada company will come to light," she added.

Both Walmik Karad and Munde are partners in businesses, she said, adding that all those who were involved in killing sarpanch Deshmukh and those who supported the accused should be punished. PTI SPK ARU NP

Source: PTI